Mooring buoy and cable



Jan. 26, 1954 E. J. LElFHElT MOORING BUOY AND CABLE Filed June 28, 1950 INVENTOR EDWARD. L E/FHE/ 7' ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 26, 1954 NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE aeessse Moonr se BUOY Ann CABLE Edward J. Leinieit, Port Washington, N. Y. Ap lication time as, 195 0; serial No. 170,932 *1 claims. (Cl; e st This invention relates to mooring devices for boats and more particularly to a mooring buoy having a cable associated therewith.

Mooring buoys as at present constructed are provided with swivel connectors between the buoy and the anchor chains or with logs or shackles at their upper ends to whi'ch a ino'orin'g cable is connected. The otherend or the mooring cable is provided with a small flb'at or pick -up L buoy so that the latter may be picked up and the mooring cable 'inade fast to the boat. There -are several disadvantages with respect to such prior constructions. For example, two buoys are utilisted and there is always the danger or fouling a portion of the buoy equipment with the propeller of the boat, especially in rough water. Also, the pick-up buoy is usually so small that considerable difliculty is experienced locating the same and picking it up. Again, during rough water and changes of tide, it is possible that the pick- 11p buoy and mooring 'cab'lemight become tangled with the anchor chain and mooring buoy. In addition to the above, it is necessary, in efiecting a mooring, to stow the pick-up buoy on the boat. Since the pick-up buoys and mooring cable are submerged when not in use, they become covered with barnacl'e's and marine growth and hence the 'stowing of these parts on the deck of the boat is quite undesirable.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a mooring buoy and cable device which is so constituted as to avoid the disadvantageous features referred to above.

Still another object includes the provision or a novel buoy and cable construction wherein the 'ca'ble'ei'rten'cls through the 'buoy'and is freely movable with respect thereto but within hmrts defined by the opposite ends of the cable.

A "further object is to provide a buoy and cable device of the above character wherein the cable may be suspended from the buoy through engagen'i'en't between the mooring eye of the cable and the top "of the buoy, the arrangement being such that when the cable eye is pickedup by a boat hook or like device and secured 'to the boat, the cable may slide through the buoy the op osite end thereof engages the top or the buoy.

A still further object is to provide in a biliiy of the foregoing type, "a oeii'tral "tubular hreniber having an apertirred cap at the upper "end thereor, and a cable passing freely through the cap aperture and tube, said cable being provided with a mooring eye 'at its upper end and an -enlarged plug at its lower end for respectively suspending the cable through contact between the capand 2 eye when the cable is not in use, and for engag ing' the plug with the cap when the mooririg eye is secured to a boat.

Another object is to provide a novel buoy construction which includes a mooring cable permanently associatec'rwith the busy in such a manner as to provide a firm and secure anchorage device without imposing severe strains upon the water-tight casing of the buoy.

The above and other novel features and objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the followin detailed description when taken in connection with th accompanying drawing. It is to be expressly understood however, that the drawing is utilized for purposes of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to appended claims. 7 V

In the drawing, wherein similarre'ferencecharacters refer to similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is an axial sectional view of a buoy and mooring cable device embodying the principles of the present invention, the device being shown in an inoperative, non-mooring position; I

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the device in a moored position; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail of the construction and illustrates the manner of attaching the plug to the lower end or the cab-1e.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, tl-re present invention is illustrated therein as includin a hollow metal tube 1 0 having a lower open'ehd H and having a casing i2 welded or otherwise secured thereto at points adjacent the top and bot-torn or the tube, the resultant structure constituting a watertight buoy 14. It will be understood that the casing I2 may be of any suitable shape, that show-11in the drawing being one well known form which is extensively used at the present time.

One of the features of the invention is to provide a mooring cable It for the buoy ll which is permanently associated with the buoy in a novel manner. As shown, the cable is, which is prererably formed of wire, extends freely through an opening "i 8 formed in a metallic closure memher or cap 20, welded to "the top of the tube, and also extends through the tube ill and the open er-id H the construction being such that the cable readily movable through these parts from the non-mooring position shown in 'Fig. l to the moored position illustrated in 'Fig. 2. In order to provide a suitable means for attaching the cable to a boat cleat, the upper end of cable 16 is formed into a mooring eye 22 which includes an enlarged cable portion 24. This enlarged portion 24 engages the top of the cap 20, when the cable l6 occupies the suspended position illustrated in Fig. 1, and thus the eye 22 is located in a convenient and readily accessible position to be picked up for mooring purposes.

In order to secure a novel anchorage arrangement after the mooring eye 22 has been secured to the boat, as shown in Fig. 2, the invention provides a highly eficient construction for releasably connecting the lower end of the cable IE to the cap 20. As shown more particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, such construction comprises a plug 26, preferably of steel, which is provided with an outwardly flared or conical bore 28 for receiving the lower end of the cable. While such lower end may be connected to the plug in any suitable manner, the connection is preferably made by separating the cable strands 30 and filling the bore with zinc, lead or other material 32 to form an expanded end for the cable. The opening [8 is conical in shape and flares outwardly from the top of the cap 20 to the bottom thereof. A complementary conical shape is also imparted to the exterior of the plug 26 so that when the device occupies the moored position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the plug 26 is received within the opening I8 of the cap, a small portion 34 of the plug extending slightly above the top surface of the cap 20.

Due to the conical construction described above, the exterior surface of the plug 25 has a surface contact with the wall of the opening l8 to allow swiveling action between these parts and prevent undesirable wedging of the plug in the cap. Thus the plug 26 is readily releasable from the cap when the mooring is disconnected to allow the cable to return to the suspended position shown in Fig. 1. It will also be apparent that cutting or fraying of the cable [6 through contact with the upper surface of the cap 20 around the opening 23 is avoided by the part 34 which extends above the top of the opening I8.

As illustrated, an anchor ear 36, to which an anchor chain 38 and anchor 40 are secured, is welded directly to the lower end portion of. the tube It). In this manner, the mooring strain is conducted directly from the cable Hi to the anchor 40 through the plug 26, the cap 20, the tube I0, the ear 36 and the chain 38. Accordingly, there will be no tendency to distort or open the seams of the casing l2 as would be the case if the mooring strain passed through said casing.

It is believed that the operation of the invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description. As shown in Fig. l, the buoy and cable device is normally positioned with the mooring eye 22 extending vertically from the buoy and the cable is suspended from the cap 26 through contact between the latter and the enlarged portion 24. When a mooring is to be made, the eye 22 is grasped by a boat hook or otherwise, and the cable I6 is drawn upwardly with respect to the tube so that the eye may be made fast to a cleat. Thereafter, the cable It moves outwardly of the tube In until the plug 26 enters the opening l8 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. At that time, the mooring strain is passed directly to the anchor 40 through the tube, as heretofore pointed out. The use of the complementary conical shapes on the plug 26 and the opening 18 prevents wedging action between these parts and allows the desirable swiveling action above referred to.

When it is desired to cast off, the cable i6 is released from the boat, whereupon the cable is guided toward its suspended position and finally released to allow the enlarged portion to re-engage the cap 20.

From the above, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel buoy and mooring cable construction which though relatively simple in construction, is nevertheless highly effective in its operation. The normal location of the cable mooring eye at the top of the buoy enables it to be readily picked up, thus avoiding the use of the additional floats or pickup buoys heretofore used in connection with mooring lines permanently secured to the buoys, as well as all the disadvantages accompanying the use of such additional buoys. It will also be appreciated that the provision of the tube [0, the cap 20 and the plug 26 enables the mooring strain to be by-passed around the casing [2, thus avoiding any damage to the latter under high tension conditions.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein with considerable particularity, it will be well understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof. Reference will therefore be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mooring buoy and cable device comprising an elongated buoyant casing having an axially positioned hollow tube therein, the ends of which extend outwardly of the casing, one end of said tube being open, a cap secured to the other end of the tube and having an opening therein, a mooring cable extending freely through said opening and through said tube, said cable having a mooring eye formed at one end and providing a cable portion larger than said opening for preventing Withdrawal of said cable from said tube when the cable is moved in one direction relative to the tube, means connected to the cable at the other end thereof and being smaller than the diameter of the tube so as to be movable freely therein and being larger than said opening for engaging said cap for preventing withdrawal of the cable from the tube when the cable is moved in the opposite direction relative to the tube, and means separate from the mooring cable and including an anchor lug secured to the tube adjacent its open end for anchoring said casing.

2. A mooring buoy and cable device comprising an elongated buoyant casing having an axially positioned hollow tube therein, the ends of which extend outwardly of the casing, one end of said tube being open, a cap secured to the other end of the tube and having a conically shaped opening therein, a mooring cable extending freely through said opening and through said tube, said cable having a mooring eye 3. A mooring buoy and cable device comprising an elongated buoyant casing having a vertically positioned hollow tube arranged centrally thereof the ends of the tube extending outwardly of the casing, and the lower end of the tube being open, a closure member secured to the upper end of the tube and having a conically shaped opening therethrough flaring outwardly from the top to bottom thereof, a mooring cable extending freely through said opening and through said tube and having a mooring eye formed at its upper end to provide a cable portion larger than said opening and engaging the upper surface of the closure member when the cable is moved to a retracted, non-mooring position, a plug having a conically shaped outer surface complementary with the conically shaped opening and provided with a central conical bore receiving the lower end of the mooring cable, the strands of said lower end being separated and secured in said bore, said plug being smaller than the diameter of the hollow tube so as to be movable freely therein, the plug being received in said opening of the closure member when the cable is extended into mooring position, an anchor lug secured to the tube adjacent its lower end, and an anchor secured to said lug so that the mooring strain extends from the cable directly to the anchor through the plug, the closure member, the tube and the anchor lug.

4. A mooring buoy and cable device comprising a buoyant casing having an axially positioned hollow tube therein, one end of said tube being open, a cap secured to the other end of said tube and provided with an opening, a mooring cable extending through said opening and through said tube, said cable being freely movable in opposite directions in said opening and tube, means for preventing withdrawal of said cable from said tube during movement of the cable in opposite directions comprising a mooring attachment at one end of the cable, and a plug secured to the other end of said cable, the plug and mooring attachment being larger than said opening and the plug being smaller than the diameter of the hollow tube so as to be movable freely therein, and means separate from the mooring cable and including an anchor lug secured directly to said tube adjacent its lower end for anchoring said casing.

EDWARD J. LEIFHEIT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Paine May 6, 1890 Willey Jan. 14, 1904 Beebe Apr. 9, 1907 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Number 

